


Tall Men and Small Creatures

by Bri_Nara



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Phobias, Shinguuji has entomophobia in this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-23
Updated: 2017-01-23
Packaged: 2018-09-19 11:29:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9438221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bri_Nara/pseuds/Bri_Nara
Summary: Gonta finds out Shinguuji has a fear of bugs and tries to help.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Having a phobia of something mostly harmless, smaller than you, and that can pop up without warning sucks. So I wrote this. Enjoy!  
> I don't really know how to write Gonta, so sorry!

Everyone jumped when they heard a blood-curdling shriek. The sounds of silverware clattering, chairs scraping against the floor, and panicked voices filled the room. Was someone getting murdered? Everyone was there, right?!

Gonta was the first one out of the door. He looked down the hallway to see what was happening. There wasn’t anyone there anymore, but he managed to spot a trail of dark hair just as it rounded the corner. He looked down at the floor.

There was Shinguuji’s hat and, going from the door to the ground, a single cockroach scuttling about.

Gonta calmly picked up both and returned to the dining hall. Everyone looked to him in worry.

“Gonta found this,” he said as he lifted up the hat.

Akamatsu approached and examined it. “Isn’t this Shinguuji’s?”

“Is he okay?” Saihara asked.

“That was Shinguuji?” Ouma asked with a laugh. “I didn’t know his voice could even go that high!”

“Ouma! This is serious! What if he’s hurt?”

The entomologist looked back. Shinguuji probably wasn’t coming. “Gonta will go check on him…”

Gonta left the room and went down the mossy hallways. If he paid close enough attention, he could notice the insects crawling around, surrounding him comfortably. He smiled warmly at them.

When he approached Shinguuji’s door and knocked on it, he was met with silence. He tried again only to be faced with the same result.

“Shinguuji!” he called out. “Are you in there?”

On the other side of the door, he almost heard… A groan? Was he hurt?!

“Shinguuji, are you okay?! Gonta’s going to break down the door and-”

“Please don’t!” was the hurried response. “I’ll be right there.”

The door was finally opened. Shinguuji stood nearly nose to nose with him but he was avoiding his eyes. His eyes were slightly red and puffy.

“Oh, Shinguuji, are you oka-”

“I’m fine.” Shinguuji held out a hand to him. “Thank you, for returning my hat.”

“Everyone heard you scream,” Gonta explained. “We were worried.”

Shinguuji’s face, what little of it Gonta could see, started turning red. “Ah… How unfortunate.”

“What happened? You can tell Gonta.”

“It was nothing, a mere overreaction. Thank you for the concer-”

Shinguuji froze and his face suddenly paled. Just as he was about to take his hat back, he noticed something.

The cockroach Gonta had picked up besides Shinguuji’s hat hadn’t left. In fact, it was sitting on the brim.

Shinguuji started trembling. He scrambled back away from Gonta and retreated into his room. A hand went to cover his mouth despite the mask there.

“Shinguuji?”

“I-I’m sorry.” His voice was shaking. Gonta could hear Shinguuji’s normally calm demeanor falling apart. Shinguuji’s eyes never left the roach. He let out a frustrated sigh. “This is… mortifying...”

“Shinguuji.” They locked eyes for just a second before the other’s gaze fell on the the cockroach again. “Gonta can’t help you if you don’t tell him what’s wrong!”

Shinguuji let out heavy sigh.

“How do I phrase this…” he pondered. “Rather, how do I phrase this without offending you?”

Gonta’s eyebrows went up. “Why would Gonta be offended?”

Shinguuji swallowed hard behind his mask. “I’m not exactly… _fond_ of insects.”

Gonta grew confused. “You’re not?”

“I have a rather strong aversion to them. I would much prefer if your little friends kept their distance.”

“But they wouldn't hurt you!” He placed the cockroach in his palm and held it out to the other. “See?”

Shinguuji flinched, nearly jumped, away from it with an undignified yelp. His eyes that were already red started tearing up.

Gonta felt his heart sink. He hurriedly, but carefully, set the cockroach down outside of the door. He rushed back over to Shinguuji and tried to gently place his hand on his shoulder.

Shinguuji, however, grabbed his wrist before he could. With his other hand, he tried to swiftly wipe the tears away with his finger.

“While I appreciate it, I have no need for you consolation,” he said stiffly. “I’ve already heard it before. ‘They’re nothing to be afraid of.’ ‘You’re bigger than them, why are you scared?’ ‘They can’t hurt you.’ I’m already aware that this fear is ridiculous and it’s frustrating. I-”

“Gonta wasn’t going to say any of that.”

Shinguuji’s eyes filled with skepticism. “You weren’t?”

The entomologist smiled at him. “Gonta was about to say that he can help!”

About five minutes later, once Shinguuji had calmed down and hid _all_ of the evidence on his face that he was crying, they were in the hallway. The hallway that was still filled with greenery, still teeming with life, seemed to focus its attention on Gonta. Shinguuji wasn’t _quite_ sure how but he felt that was the case.

“Heey!” Gonta called out. Small clusters of insects crawled out of the grass and the moss. Before Shinguuji could even begin to feel uneasy, Gonta continued. “Do you see Gonta’s friend, Shinguuji? He’s shy around you guys, so please be kind to him and give him his space! Okay?”

Shinguuji watched in amazement as the bugs immediately complied. Each one vanished from his sight.

“There,” Gonta said. “Is that better?”

“Yes… That will do.” Behind his mask, he gave a smile. “Thank you.”

Shinguuji took a mental note to go from avoiding Gonta to observing him very closely from now on.


End file.
